The Battle- Austin vs. Daddy

I made stuffed peppers for dinner last night. I knew the kids wouldn’t eat cooked pepper so I fed Ben and Connor the stuffing and raw peppers. Ben tried one bite and didn’t like it so I gave him plain brown rice. Upon seeing this, Connor insisted on plain rice also, though I am pretty sure he liked the stuffing.

Then comes Austin. He wouldn’t even look at the meal. Daddy told him he had to try one bite of the stuffed pepper mix before we’d make him anything else. I would have been happy if he tried one bite of plain brown rice.

Lots of crying ensued… I beg, pleaded and bargained. Daddy sent him to his room hungry. Thirty minutes later he was asleep… on an empty belly.

I know he won’t starve, but if I don’t cater to him at supper, he’d really only get one MEAL a day- breakfast. His “lunch” at school consists of some fruit and usually mini muffins… anything else I send comes back home. I just don’t know how to get past this.

9 Responses

Take this as you wish from a stay at home parent but have you tried having him make the food with you? or maybe making breakfast dinner? I just saw an article from a mother that said her son would not eat dinner but loved breakfast foods so she gave him modified “breakfast” for dinner adding veggies and other things into breakfast foods like pancakes and eggs. My daughter is a great eater in terms of what she eats so I don’t have to cook twice but she doesn’t always eat enough (she’s 35lbs like 20th percentile and 45 inches like 90th percentile and beanpole at almost 4) so we have started to suppliment with pedisure before bed and in the mornings before school. She loves it and at least is getting some extra nutrition and calories.

I know how you feel about Austin going to bed without dinner. However, I think what your husband did was right. I know you have to cater to him since he don’t eat alot of foods to begin with, but if he doesn’t learn now that he has to at least try something before getting something else, he will always demand on something else, and alot of times it will just be because he don’t want to eat what is being made for dinner. I agree with asking him to help fix dinner. If he sees what is going into the meal, he may be more inclined to try it.

You may have heard of that book “The Sneaky Chef”, by Missy Chase Lapine. It’s really a great book for making things to “fool” your kids into thinking that they’re getting “good” stuff, when they are actually getting healthy stuff. For example, she has a recipe for a breakfast ice cream that’s packed with fruit, dairy, etc. Also, she has recipes for brownies, muffins, etc. that contain lots of hidden nutrients.

The other good thing about it is that the ingredients are (mostly) things you would have in the house or can get easily enough and she is conscious of the time constraints that we all have as working parents. Many of the recipes involve her purees, which can be done ahead of time and frozen, so you just defrost and add to a recipe.

I do actually have one of the “healthy” cook books. And when it comes to breakfast (pancakes, waffles, french toast, muffins) I am good to go. He just won’t eat anything else. Combined with that, he’s in a nut-free classroom.

Jen, don’t worry..He will grow out of it…As long as he is growing and healthy, I wouldn’t panic..He is eating pbj, all fruit and some raw veggies..
Rules are rules, if he won’t at least try what you make and the consequence is going to bed hungry then he’ll go to bed without dinner..If he doesn’t like it he’ll stop..
I have the vegetable battle with Zander almost every night, I say he at least has to try them, 2 bites, or he won’t get dessert after dinner..It sometimes ends in a tantrum, and a headache for me..Last night he ate a whole serving of green beans!!! and was allowed to choose his dessert…strawberries…
Austin is very very typical don’t fret he’ll be fine…